Bombay Development Directorate chawls plan to be ready by next week

It is expected that the residents of these 207 buildings spread over prime 93 acres across various locations in south Mumbai will be given 500-550 sq ft apartments in lieu of their current 160 sq ft tenementsET Bureau | November 18, 2015, 14:00 IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is set to finalise next week the longdelayed redevelopment of the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls, developed by the British in the 1920s, across south Mumbai. The largest redevelopment project in the city has been pending for more than a decade.

It is expected that the residents of these 207 buildings spread over prime 93 acres across various locations in south Mumbai will be given 500-550 sq ft apartments in lieu of their current 160 sq ft tenements.

Once the plan takes off, it will lead to the most ambitious and largest redevelopment project in the country's commercial capital.

The chawls, housing nearly 17,000 families, are located at Worli, Lower Parel, Sewri and Naigaon. Of theses, Worli has the highest number of buildings, at 121, while Naigaon and Lower Parel have 42 and 32 buildings respectively.

“The state government is aiming to kick-start the re development of these colonies in March next year. In terms of process, we have almost reached the final phase," said a state government official.

The master plan for the project will also be reviewed at this meeting. The state government had shortlisted 10 architecture firms out of 24 firms that had shown interest in framing the master plan for this development.

It is expected that the state housing body, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), will undertake redevelopment of these colonies through private developers.

However, the crucial aspect of this will be to get consent from the residents on project execution through private developers.

In 2010, MHADA had initiated the process by sending a proposal of redeveloping these colonies. Following a review, the state government had also proposed to engage private developers with MHADA taking up the nodal agency's role. However, this proposal could not reach any conclusion at the time.